IDED awards Centerville $510,000 for storm water sewer project

(Photo: L—R: Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) Director, Mary Lawyer; Centerville Mayor, Greg Fenton; Chariton Valley Planning and Development Executive Director, Tracy Daugherty Miller; and IDED staff member Dan Narber. )

The city of Centerville received good news at an Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) award ceremony in Grinnell recently - the city is to receive a $510,000 Community Development Block Grant to fund the city's storm water sewer project. The grant is the second largest awarded through the program this year.

Centerville Mayor Greg Fenton and Chariton Valley Planning and Development Executive Director, Tracy Daugherty Miller attended the awards ceremony and were on hand as the announcement was made.

"The funding announcement is great news for Centerville," says Daugherty Miller, who assisted the city with the CDBG grant application. Hall Engineering completed the engineering portion of the application process.

"Iowa DED hasn’t been known to fund many storm water sewer projects in the past, so to receive one of the top dollar awards is especially gratifying," she explains.

A team of engineers confirmed that storm water system conditions and hazards in the northern and central areas of the city require immediate attention.

Centerville Mayor, Greg Fenton, says thin, vitrified clay pipes and brick intakes have abruptly collapsed in recent years due to climate conditions, precipitation, and poor quality control conditions that existed when the pipes and bricks were manufactured in the 1930s.

"Without CDBG funds, the city may have had to assess user fees and surtaxes to residents and businesses to secure funding needed to make the urgently needed replacements," Fenton says.

Replacement of 6,467 lineal feet of storm sewer pipe and 22 intakes will be constructed in the vicinity of the city park and Howar Junior High School. Project letting is expected in September 2006, with construction to begin in October 2006.

The project is sponsored by the City of Centerville, Iowa. The Centerville Public Works Department will oversee engineers and contractors constructing the infrastructure and will monitor the storm water system.

For more information about the project, contact Chariton Valley Planning and Development, 641.437.4359.